Author Archives: GilPress
The Challenge of Automation, 1965
Kevin Maney, “Will AI Robots Turn Humans Into Pets?” April 2, 2017: Here’s a question worth considering: Is this AI tsunami really that different from the changes we’ve already weathered? Every generation has felt that technology was changing too much … Continue reading
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The History of the Internet of Things According to William Belk
From early visionaries to futuristic applications, the Internet of Things was fueled by raw innovation in connectivity and robotics. ~1900: Radio Control http://www.intergalacticvault.com/nikola-tesla-inventions-list-of-7-discoveries-you-may-not-have-heard-of-2016-poll/ ~1960: Hospital Pager https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3B9s6Gbo4A ~1965: Telephone Modem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modem ~1965: Mechanical/Hydraulic Exoskeleton http://cyberneticzoo.com/man-amplifiers/1966-69-g-e-hardiman-i-ralph-mosher-american/ ~1970: Unmanned Reconnaissance Drone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Model_147#Ryan_Model_136_Red_Wagon_and_Lucy_Lee … Continue reading
Posted in Internet of things
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19th Century Selfies: The Countess of Castiglione
The Metropolitan Museum: Virginia Oldoini (1837–1899), born to an aristocratic family from La Spezia, entered into an arranged and loveless marriage at age seventeen to Count Francesco Verasis di Castiglione. Widely considered to be the most beautiful woman of her … Continue reading
Peter Drucker on Managing Moron Computers and the Information Utility (1967)
The IBM 360 Model 75 computer at the Rutherford Laboratory, 1967 Peter F. Drucker, “The Manager and the Moron,” McKinsey Quarterly, December 1967 One of the most potentially earthshaking forces in our economy is the technology of information. I don’t … Continue reading
Benjamin Franklin on Daylight Saving Time
Letter to the Editor of the Journal of Paris, 1784 To THE AUTHORS of The Journal of Paris 1784 MESSIEURS, You often entertain us with accounts of new discoveries. Permit me to communicate to the public, through your paper, one … Continue reading
2 Early Networking Experiments
In 1966-1967, two early networking experiments were influenced by J.C.R. Licklider’s interest in resource sharing and included experiments with the interactive use of remote programs. Read article »
Posted in Computer Networks
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The Bulletin Board System
IEEE Spectrum: For millions of people around the globe, the Internet is a simple fact of life. We take for granted the invisible network that enables us to communicate, navigate, investigate, flirt, shop, and play. Early on, this network-of-networks connected … Continue reading
Posted in Internet, Social Impact, Social Networks
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Tesla on the World Brain
In 1904, Tesla, determined to see his idea come to fruition, wrote with absolute certainty that “when wireless is fully applied, the earth will be converted into a huge brain, capable of response in every one of its parts.” Source: … Continue reading
Posted in Wireless
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The Story of Information 